Sphalerite with Galena & Hübnerite on Quartz

Item Description

The famous Huayllapon Mine in Peru is well-known for producing attractive specimens of Rhodochrosite, Fluorite and Hübnerite, but Sphalerite specimens are notably hard to find on the market. This piece dates back to the 1970s and is one of only a select few we've ever seen from this locality. The piece hosts a 2.0 cm complex group of gemmy/translucent, burnt-orange color Sphalerite associated with a couple lead-grey colored crystals of Galena, plus minor bladed dark red colored Hübnerite crystals sitting atop gemmy, prismatic, colorless Quartz crystal matrix. The Sphalerite group has a micro dusting of Pyrite and Galena, giving it a sparkling appearance. The piece is in excellent condition, with no major damage that I can find with naked eye. The Sphalerite group looks best with some backlighting to allow the color to come through. If you collect Peruvian minerals, this is a good piece to add to your collection for the rare locality for Sphalerite. Valued at $800-$1,200. From the collection of Kurt Hefendehl (#86 PE), a well-known German collector all over Europe with worldwide contacts to dealers and collectors. He started collecting seriously at the age of 14 and his great and varied worldwide collection reached over 6000 pieces. He was very active mineralogically until shortly before his passing in 2020 at the age of 82. Considering his collection had a large number of pieces, it still had an unusually high standard of quality from most worldwide localities. He particularly specialized in all classics as well as minerals of the Black Forest, where he spent much time collecting. His Black Forest and German subcollections went to his good friend Wolfgang Wendel. We at The Arkenstone have the privilege of offering the remainder of this great worldwide collection over the next two to three years through our various platforms.